NFL player Chris Smith is in mourning after his girlfriend Petara Cordero was killed in a roadside accident this week, less than a month after the couple welcomed a baby girl.

The 26-year-old was struck and killed by a car after the couple was involved in a single-vehicle accident on Wednesday morning.

It comes just weeks after she welcomed a baby girl, Haven Harris Smith, with the Cleveland Browns defensive end.

The pair was travelling in the player’s Lamborghini when a tyre blew out and the car spun out of control, setting off a tragic chain of events.

It ended up hitting a median on the I-90 West in Cleveland around 2am, before Cordero got out of the car uninjured only to be struck by an oncoming Mazda in front of her partner.

After being taken to Cleveland Clinic Fairview Hospital, she was pronounced dead.

According to a police statement, Smith was not injured in the incident, nor was he impaired. The driver of the Mazda admitted to drinking before the accident, with a toxicology report still pending.

‘Words cannot describe the sorrow we feel for Chris following the loss of his girlfriend, Petara,’ co-owners of Cleveland Browns Dee and Jimmy Haslam said in a statement.

‘Our entire organisation mourns with Chris, his family and the Cordero family.

‘We will do everything possible to offer them our support, comfort and any resources in this most difficult time.’

The player will be excused from team activities to grieve ‘as he sees best fit’.

Cordero’s sad death comes less than a month after she gave birth to their daughter Haven, with the pair announcing their little girl’s arrival on social media in late August.

On the 27th, Smith shared photos of the new mother and their baby, writing in the caption: ‘I’m so thankful to have another beautiful gift in this world my daughter Haven Harris Smith.

‘You are such a blessing to me and your mother!! Love you Petara and Baby Haven.’

Cordero also shared photographs of their bundle of joy, as she wrote: ‘This little girl has filled my heart with so much joy and love !!

‘I’m so thankful that God chose me to be her mommy!! So excited for this life journey with you!!! Haven Harris Smith.’

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